Rotastak Space Command Unit

Take our two teenagers again, a girl and a boy, add to that a house full of pets and it was only a matter of time before they would want a pet of their own. So when our teenagers came with us to the pet shop we had a feeling that they would look to see what was on offer. Our normal twenty minute trip to pick up food for the pets turned into a two hour shopping trip where all manner of pets were discussed. Eventually they both decided on hamsters, then it was what type of home would they have.

Our teenage son had seen his sister choose a pink Rotastak, now he liked the cage but really was not going to choose anything remotely girly and pink. Luckily they also had a Rotastak in an odd shade of green. This was called the Rotastak Space Command Unit, I considered this a bit more of a bargain than the standard one, even though it cost the same £40 this was on the basis that it came complete with a detachable carrying case.

What does it look like?

It is predominantly clear and luminous green
Starting at the ground floor, it has a tube that winds its way up to the top floor. It also has a tube coming down from the playroom above. You can also attach the carrying case to the ground floor, this in effect gives the hamster another room to explore.

Once on the first floor (playroom) the hamster finds itself in a smaller circular room, It has three things it can do, drop down a hole to the ground floor, it can use its exercise wheel or it can climb up to the top floor and to what is designed to be its bedroom.

The top floor is the hamsters bedroom, instead of the walls being clear like the lower floors, they are pink so the hamster has some privacy when it goes to sleep.
The overall size is
Height - 56 cm (22")
Width - 77 cm (30")
Depth - 51 cm (20")

How is it to assemble?

If you have any astronaut friends who have been involved in putting the space station together, then I suggest you try and get them to help.
The instructions for the assembly are adequate, but it is the actual process of assembling that is difficult. You have these pieces called anti gnaw rings (remember that hamsters love to chew) that fit on the tube, yes they do fit but it took a lot of effort. The whole thing has a lot of pieces the curved tubes that make up the circle, clips to hold parts together etc.
From our experience, I would suggest lay the whole thing out on the floor, read the instructions very carefully and make sure you have plenty of time and more than one pair of hands.

Does the hamster like it?

The hamster that lives in this cage is quite a character, unlike most hamsters who only come to life at night, he seems to wake just as everyone is thinking about going to bed. He then spends hour after hour in his wheel. Because his wheel is on the outside of the playroom area, it is much louder than the wheel on the standard Rotastak, it is that loud that it can be heard from the floor below where the hamster is kept.
He does however use the top floor bedroom to sleep most of the time, for a change he will occasionally drag bedding and food to a tube and camp in that for a night.

Cleaning it

Well building it was really hard, thankfully taking it apart to clean is not nearly as hard, because it is plastic it cleans very easily, however when putting the parts back together make sure they are secure, we nearly lost one hamster because of not doing so.

Anything else that can be done with it?

Yes it is expandable, it is designed so parts can be added, (rooms tubes etc) the only real limitations being imagination and cost.

Any downsides?

Unfortunately we have found a couple of problems.

The tubes that go between the ground and the top floor can be easily dislodged, especially when younger children are around or when the cage is being moved. You even need to dust with care.

The noise from the external exercise wheel can be a bit much, and yes I have tried lubricating it to reduce the noise but that had no effect.

The putting it together is a struggle and it is a two person job, well three if you have someone making the tea.

Then the other downer is the cost, not only of the cage but of any add ons that you might wish to buy.

Overall

This is much better than an ordinary cage, not only do they look good, but the hamster has much more to do. Although they are not too cheap, they are well constructed and with care will last for a good few years. I am generally happy with them and will recommend them but as I have said before they do not come without a few problems.
I really do prefer this to the standard cage, not because it is not pink (although that is a factor for me), but it has the carry case with it, this is fantastic when cleaning the cage, somewhere to keep the hamster safe, when we clean our other cage we also use this carrying case.